INDIVIDUAL ACTIVITY #4
A museum is a place where artifacts and artistic cultural objects are being conserved. It educates the public through displaying these collections that hold their own importance to the nation.
The National Museum of the Philippines is located at Ermita, Manila. It serves as an educational and cultural institution in preserving the national collections of the history of the Philippines.
Spoliarium by Juan Luna (Oil on canvas)
The painting “Spoliarium” demonstrates the bloody slaughter caused by war. It focuses on the social reality and exposes injustice, grievance and death of many people. This art doesn’t just show the past but also the present because until now, abuses and torments are widespread and it is a sad thing that fights and crimes are being considered as a normal thing in the world.
Untitled by Manuel Rodriguez (Oil on wood)
This painting focuses on the maltreatment of the colonizers to the Filipinos before. It is clearly seen that the center of the art is injustice. Some are killed unprepared and with no match. This painting made me realize that today, murders are very common that even innocents are being beaten to death. We live in a land where people have accepted war and crimes as society’s norms without even considering a possibility to change. We point others as the evil ones rather than looking deep inside of ourselves and realize that wickedness also exists within each one of us. All we have to do to change is get to know God because He is willing to forgive us if we turn away from our sins and repent.
Rape and Massacre in Ermita by Diosdado M. Lorenzo (Oil on canvas)
“Rape and Massarce in Ermita” displays the inhumanity of two criminal soldiers who shamelessly raped a lady and killed his husband. This is an unacceptable behavior. I see this as a severe evilness. Until now, raping is a common thing among women, but some men also encoutered this. In Deuteronomy, we can find a verse pertaining to rape. “But if in the field the man finds the girl who is engaged, and the man forces her and lies with her, then only the man who lies with her shall die.” People disapproves rape, and so does God. It is a great sin that is punishable with death.
A Filipina Beauty by Vicente Alvarez Dizon (Pastel on paper
Filipina beauty symbolizes simplicity, having dark hair, black eyes and brown complexion. The Filipinas before are typically innocent, conservative and demure. Nowadays, the Filipina identity is not being oberved by many and that is because of the cultural changes in our environment. Some use treatments to look like the foreigners who have different hair colors and fair skin. It is not bad having a desire to look better, but our identity as Filipinas is being forgotten. Our looks can be changed. However, our inner beauty should not be altered. Because what’s more important is the content of the heart of a true Filipina.
Commonwealth Triumphal Arch
When I saw this artwork, I was amazed because it instantly made my brain interpret its meaning. It has a visible message and it shows bayanihan. It depicts how the early Filipinos fought for their freedom and how they survived as one, as a nation. It is not centered on one specific hero, but the whole bayanihan’s collaborative hardships and effort. It is also a message for us that no circumstance is so hard for a united nation, for everything will be better if we do it together.
Pamilya by Vicente Silva Manansala(Oil on canvas mounted on wood)
“Pamilya” shows a family that is praying before partaking their meals. Filipinos are known for their strong faith in God. Our faith came from our ancestors and the knowledge about Him is strengthened through the help of our family. “The family that prays together stays together.” We are used to praying with and for our whole family. Life is not the same when they are not by our side because they are the ones who would always support us and whom we could rely on. In our family, we can encounter a love that is beaming at each other’s flaws and imperfections, not despising and judging them.
The First Mass in Limasawa by Carlos V. Francisco (Oil on canvas)
The first Catholic mass in the Philippines was held at Limasawa on March 31, 1521. This is the first time wherein Filipinos were exposed to Christianity. And most of the Filipinos are Catholics now. It is said that the most powerful form of prayer is the Holy Mass. The mass is something that you can do for the Lord in return for His suffering and death. All He asks for is for us to believe in Him and accept Him completely. The Holy Mass is a way to glorify Him for His great love for us.
Baybayin
The Baybayin, commonly known as Alibata, means “to spell” in Tagalog. It is once used as a way to write our language. And language is an important element of everyone’s lives. It is a means of communicating and interacting with each other in a certain culture. It lets us inform people on what we feel, what we want and what our concerns and problems are. Without a way to communicate, there will be a great number of misunderstandings within a community and lack of oneness and cooperation. Baybayin is an essential part of the Filipino culture before and it should be preserved and remembered by this generation and more generation that are to arise in the future.